


a job for a wizard chef

by Patricia_Sage



Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: Angus McDonald and Taako Bonding, Disabled Taako (The Adventure Zone), Gen, Good Sibling Lup (The Adventure Zone), Hurt Taako (The Adventure Zone), Kravitz Loves Taako (The Adventure Zone), Kravitz and Taako in Love (The Adventure Zone), Kravitz/Taako Fluff (The Adventure Zone), M/M, POV Taako (The Adventure Zone), Reaper Lup (The Adventure Zone), Taako Adopts Angus McDonald, Taako Has Chronic Pain (The Adventure Zone), Taako Loves Angus McDonald, Taako Loves Kravitz (The Adventure Zone), Taako is Angus McDonald's Parent
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-16
Updated: 2021-01-22
Packaged: 2021-03-14 11:40:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,799
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28794819
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Patricia_Sage/pseuds/Patricia_Sage
Summary: Angus scurries over and tries to retrieve the piece of paper, but Taako holds it high above his head. The boy has gotten taller over the years, but Taako’s arms are quite long. When he reads the note his blood runs cold. “Oh, Angus, what the fuck did you do?”[Angus gets himself into trouble. Taako gets him out of it.]
Relationships: Angus McDonald & Taako, Barry Bluejeans/Lup, Kravitz/Taako (The Adventure Zone), Lup & Taako (The Adventure Zone), Magnus Burnsides & Taako
Comments: 14
Kudos: 119





	1. Chapter 1

Taako is teaching Angus his first fourth level spell, Fire Shield, when a note suddenly flies through a smoky portal and plasters itself to the boy’s glasses. Taako finishes extinguishing his singed sleeve, then teases him. “Ooh, Ango Tango… Does someone have a love letter?”

But when Angus reads the note, he doesn’t blush or smile. In fact, pretty much the opposite happens. His dark skin pales and his lip starts trembling. He looks terrified. He tries to compose himself and put the note in his pocket to avoid Taako’s concern. “Okay, um, go ahead. I’ll try the shield one more time.”

His hands are shaking when he raises his wand, and he won’t look Taako in the eye. “Hey, little man, what’s going on?”

“N-nothing, sir. Nothing a detective can’t handle by himself.”

Taako nods, raising his staff. “Well, you see, I’ve done some research and I think this job is actually for a wizard chef.” He casts Mage Hand and plucks the note out of Angus’s vest pocket. The boy tries to grab it as it floats away, but he’s not fast enough. When Taako has the note in his hand, he thinks about how Lucretia would chastise him for this invasion privacy…but he knows that Lup or Magnus would meddle if they were in his place.

Angus scurries over and tries to retrieve the piece of paper, but Taako holds it high above his head. The boy has gotten taller over the years, but Taako’s arms are quite long. When he reads the note his blood runs cold. “Oh, Angus, what the fuck did you do?”

Angus begins to sniffle. “I’m sorry, sir, I didn’t know.”

Taako hugs him. They very rarely do, but the kid really needs one right now. “Don’t worry, Mango, daddy’s gonna take care of everything.”

“What?”

“Oh, never mind.”

*** *** ***

The necromancer’s lair is in the middle of a dark forest just outside of Neverwinter. Taako blackmails Avi to let him use the Bureau’s moon cannon to get there. 

“If you don’t let me use this and keep your pretty mouth shut, Avi, I’m going to tell everyone about your big bisexual crush on Davenport.”

“What!?” Avi’s voice cracks. “I-I don’t…” Pitifully, he leaves it at that.

“Mhm,” Taako says. “I’m not one to judge, but he was so messed in the head he could only say his own name. Is that what does it for you? That’s a little fucked up, my man.”

“No!” Avi protests. “It was after everything happened! When he got himself back!”

Taako smirks in reply. It takes him a few seconds, but Avi realizes he just confirmed Taako’s hunch. He loads the wizard into the cannon without a word.

The building is threatening and gloomy, but in a vapid way, like they designed it from the cover of _Spooky Necromancer Magazine_ or a child’s design of a haunted house. Taako rolls his eyes and approaches the front door, knocking with his staff.

A small panel, about 1 foot squared and halfway up the door, slides open. A greasy looking halfling peers out at Taako’s abdomen. The wizard leans down so they’re eye-to-eye. It’s Hell on his aching joints. “Password?” the halfling says.

“Uh…let me in.”

The guard gives him an incredulous look. “No. That’s not the password.”

“Darn.” Taako sends a burst of magic into his staff, causing the orb on top to glow. He lowers it to mere centimeters away from the halfling’s nose. “Is this the password?”

He squints in the light but doesn’t seem scared. “Yeah, go ahead, pretty boy. This place is magic-proof.”

Taako straightens up, the pain in his hip becoming unbearable. He leans against the staff and looks down his nose at the guard. “One more guess. Artichoke heart?”

“…No.”

“Hm.” Taako walks away.

Once he’s safely out of sight, he turns and approaches the building from the back. There’s only one window, but Taako casts Prestidigitation, making the glass too dirty to see through.

The building may be encased in magic, but they didn’t say anything about the ground. Taako uses Hole Thrower and creates a 7-foot-deep tunnel at an angle, then he slides down into the basement.

A few of the necromancers spill their drinks when he walks into their living room brushing dirt off of his silk pants. There’s a smattering of swears and a clattering of weapons. Taako extends the note as a shield. “I’m here on behalf of the world’s greatest detective.”

*** *** ***

During his last case, Angus was in desperate need of information. Turns out the kid, brilliant as he is, didn’t read the fine print and unintentionally signed his life away in exchange.

“He made a pact. Fair is fair. In exchange for the information, he’s indebted to us.” The necromancers have relaxed, once again seated on the couch and around the kitchen table. One of them even offered Taako a drink, but he declined. He’s just relieved to be able to finally sit down.

Taako leans an elbow on the table. “Well, yeah, okay. You do know he’s eleven, right?”

“Velsharoon doesn’t discriminate.”

“Alright, but I do.”

The necromancer coughs a little on her coffee. “That’s not…that doesn’t matter. He’s indebted.” The man beside her shrugs in agreement.

“Hm.” Taako inspects his nails. “Not anymore.”

“Hey, listen, wizard –”

“No, _you_ listen, denim jacket.” Taako stands up so he can loom over them, staff in hand. The woman seems uncertain as to whether she should put her cup down or not. “Here’s the plan. I will take on the boy detective’s debt.” She raises her eyebrows in interest. The wizard interrupts her with a raised finger. “I’ll complete up to five – _five!_ – necromancy tasks for you. I won’t kill anyone…not on purpose. But, other than that, I’m pretty versatile.” He sits back down. “And after I’m done those tasks, that’s it. Contract up. You leave me alone and you leave the kid alone for the rest of his beautiful life.”

“But his agreement was an eternal debt.”

“But I’m dating a Bounty Hunter for the Raven Queen, so it’s going to be five tasks and I don’t have you incarcerated, capisce?”

They draw up the paperwork.

Taako winks at the baffled halfling as he leaves out the front door.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter - Taako completes the five tasks and they're not much fun.
> 
> If you liked this story, please leave a review! I cherish every single one (and maybe they'll kick me in the butt to finish the last chapter lol).
> 
> P.S. if you're wondering about my 'Taako has chronic pain' headcanon, I wrote a short series called "Crushed" that you can check out


	2. Chapter 2

(1)

Taako’s a transmutation wizard, not a necromancer, and he cannot complete any rituals for them. He must obtain rare ritual components, instead. He wishes he could just kill these necromancers or report them, but it’s too risky for Angus, and Taako may be reckless with his own life but never the boy’s.

His first task involves a three-day trek across a frozen wasteland to retrieve a special kind of dirt found in an underground cave system. He’s attacked by a dozen human-sized ice bats. It’s a good thing he has so many spells that deal fire damage. Shivering and aching, he retrieves a jar of the stupid dirt.

“Babe, you’re freezing!” Kravitz says when he kisses him in the foyer. One of their cats wraps around the wizard’s ankles, stopping him from walking away. Verbal deflection, then.

“You’re one to talk. You’re literally death warmed over.”

Kravitz chuckles. “True.” He picks up the cat and gives her a kiss, freeing Taako from his position but not from the conversation. “Where were you? You’ve been gone all day.”

“Uh, ski trip! With…Killian.” Taako hangs up his jacket and hat before leaning his cane against the wall. He walks into the living room and sinks into the couch with a groan.

Kravitz puts the kettle on the stove. “I didn’t think you and Killian were very close.”

“Exactly. Gotta maintain that gay solidarity, so we arrange a trip now and again.”

“Oh. Sounds fun!”

They cuddle on the couch and spend the rest of the evening watching Fantasy _Queer Eye_. Karamo, a Tiefling monk, gives a gentle and empowering speech about communication and honesty in a relationship. Taako sips his cinnamon tea to dissolve guilt settling like a stone in his stomach.

(2)

He tackles the second task a few days later. He has to climb the mountain. Of course he does. Because they can’t give a wizard with chronic pain a goddamn break. Spider Climb takes care of it, for the most part. Walking vertically up the mountain’s face like an uneven, windy road is still hard work, but significantly more manageable than scaling it.

There’s a skeleton at the top. The climber had made it all the way to this snow-covered cave and somehow met their end. Taako leans against the cave wall. Without meaning to, he thinks of Lup – how her bones crumbled to dust when they took the Umbra Staff; how he found her, finally, after all these years…and didn’t feel anything at all.

He slaps himself on the cheek a little to refocus. No time for that.

The ceremonial dagger is on the climber’s belt. There are also a few coins in a leather pouch. Taako pockets them without hesitation, happy that no one’s around to berate him for it.

He’s Spider Climb-ing down, horizontal and facing the approaching ground, when his Stone of Farspeech begins to vibrate. He retrieves it from his pocket with the hand not currently holding his hat in place. “Go for Taako.”

“Hello sir. Are you okay?”

“Everything’s peachy, little man, why do you ask?”

“It’s just…you haven’t really been around since –” Angus pauses. “Why does it sound windy?”

Taako cringes and tries to cover the Stone more with the brim of his hat. “Oh, you know…classic Lup.”

“What?”

“Gotta go!” He hangs up.

(3)

The third one is in a fucking desert. Taako puts see-through fabric around the brim of his hat like a beekeeper and walks for two hours through the sand dunes. He’s following the beacon from an enchanted stone, but his path is interrupted. He dodges the scorpion’s stinger just in time.

Two more scorpions spring from the sand and for a moment Taako wishes Magnus were here. It’s nice to have someone ready to take the big hits for you…especially when Magnus merely brushes off attacks that would knock Taako to the floor. But the big guy is busy with dog school, and this is a solo mission.

One of them pierces his shoulder with its stinger. Taako swears as poison damage seeps in and finds himself wishing Merle were here too…he probably wouldn’t cast a healing spell, but he would do something stupid and distract the monsters. Taako casts Reduce on the scorpion that attacked him, causing it to shrink to the size of a matchbox. He crushes it under his staff.

He casts Disintegrate on the other two and the sand is his only companion once more.

The chest is on top of a large dune. “Fuck this,” Taako says, clutching his shoulder, and casts Gust of Wind. The dune collapses and the wizard walks to pick up his prize. Inside the chest is a handful of purple gems. The necromancers only asked for one, so Taako keeps the rest. “I deserve a damn commission,” he mumbles before calling Avi to pick him up.

(4)

The fourth task seems simple enough – collect a few flower petals from a weird forest.

Taako didn’t expect three velociraptors to stand in his way. But also…the velociraptors didn’t expect him to transform into a T-rex.

Dupree takes care of the little shrimps easily enough. Transforming back, Taako picks up his staff from where he dropped it then kneels next to the pond. The flowers are very small, about the size of his thumbnail, and the petals are shimmering and fluorescent. He’s zipping up his fanny pack of holding when his sharp elf ears catch the sound of a trigger being pulled. Too late.

There’s a pain in the side of his neck and then there’s nothing.

When he wakes, all he can think of is how profoundly damp and uncomfortable he is. His ankles are in the pond, ruining his expensive boots, and his hair is full of mud. He sits up and pulls the dart from near his collarbone. “Fuck.”

There are tiny holes in his arms, some of them still bleeding. With that piece of information, he recognizes the aching, muddled headache. He calls Lup.

“Hey, dork,” she greets him cheerfully.

“Hey, dingus,” he replies. “So, um, _hypothetically_ …what could someone do if they, you know, had some of my blood?”

“Taako, what the fuck?”

“I’m just _asking_ – could some wacko potion bitch make me into their slave or something? …Hypothetically.”

“Hypothetically, I would kick your ass. What are you doing?”

“Answer me, Lup!” he takes off his boots and dumps the water out.

She sighs. “I mean, yeah, it’s always a bad thing when someone has your blood, homie. _Theoretically_ they could use it like that, but that shit requires a lotta power and a lotta time. Keep in mind that most necromancers aren’t like my man Bluejeans – they’re generally not very patient.” That reminds Taako of his whole purpose here, and he checks his fanny pack. He lets out a relieved sigh – the flowers are still there. “Elf blood is used less as a core component and more as an ingredient, generally,” Lup continues. “So, they probably already threw it in an ageless beauty potion, or something.”

“Alright, sick.” He grabs his Stone of Farspeech out of the damp grass.

“Don’t you fucking dare hang up on me.”

“…I wasn’t going to,” he lies.

“What the hell are you doing? I haven’t seen you in weeks.”

“You’re a Grim Reaper now, lady. And I’ve got a school to run.”

“Ren is running your school.”

“I’m still –”

She interrupts him. Her voice is quiet and sharp. “Taako.”

He lets out the breath from his lungs and leans back in the grass. “Fine. Don’t tell anyone. Please, for the love of Istus, don’t tell Kravitz.”

“Okay. What’s up?”

He tells her.

“Wow, you really love that little twerp, don’t you?”

“Shut up. He’s just a kid. I couldn’t let him deal with his alone.”

“I feel you. Alright, dude, here’s the plan. Tell me your location and I’ll do a sweep there later today. If any necromancers have your blood, I’ll take ‘em out before they can use it, alright?”

He sits up, trying to shake off the hazy feeling of blood loss. “Thanks, babe.”

“I wasn’t finished.” He rolls his eyes. “In return, you have to tell Kravitz about this.”

“I can’t! I’m literally doing the shit that he goes around stopping all day.”

“I have the same job, sugar.”

“I _know_ , but he doesn’t…” He groans in frustration. “I have to finish this, Lup.”

“Okay. After you’re done. Then you tell him, right?”

“Fine.”

“Good. Now, tell me where you are.”

(5)

The last one ( _fucking finally_ ) is in yet another cave. “I’m done being an adventurer,” he mumbles to himself. His voice echoes among the dripping water and chittering bugs. “I saved the entire planar system, my bones hurt all the time, and I got a school to run. No more dumb adventures after this, Taako’s out.”

Suddenly the path ends. Water laps at his boots in small waves and ceiling slopes down and disappears under the surface. Taako looks at the enchanted stone leading his way. The beam is still pointing forward. “Fuck off,” he groans, then begins removing his clothes.

He strips to nothing but his silk shirt and corduroy pants, leaving his cloak, jacket, hat, and jewelry in a careful pile. He shoves his staff into his fanny pack of holding and buckles it securely to his waist. He pins his braid up and out of his face. “Surf’s up,” he says, then dives in.

The water is cold but not freezing. Taako cast Shape Water to create a bubble of air around his head. Everything is murky and dark except for the stone around his neck that projects the light leading the way. He swims for what feels like at least a minute before the exit appears.

When he surfaces, treading water, he’s met with five spears almost touching his freckled nose. “Hail and well met,” he says.

Luckily, the group of selkies decide to hear him out rather than spear him in the water like a helpless fish. He doesn’t want to startle them by taking out his staff, so he’s forced to sit and shiver on the stone while he explains himself through chattering teeth and they watch him distrustfully. “So, yeah,” he concludes, “This is the last thing on the necromancy grocery list.” The light from the stone is projecting toward a small pool of water in the opposite corner. Taako points. “Give me one of those bad boys over there and you’ve saved a sweet little magic boy. Whaddaya say?”

They had lowered their weapons while he was talking but they raise them again when he points to the small pool of water. They look murderous. “You cannot have one of our eggs. Leave now or we will be forced to kill you.”

“Your _eggs_? Shit.” Taako closes his eyes. Necromancy sucks. “I’m honestly quite sorry about this,” he says, and casts Charm Person. Four of them lower their weapons and their guards, but one of them succeeded on her wisdom saving throw.

She turns to her companions. “What are you doing? Attack him!”

“Come on, Del, it’s Taako! We’re not going to fight our friend from TV.”

She glares at him. Taako hasn’t seen this much hatred directed toward him in a long time. “ _Wizard,_ ” she spits out between sharp teeth like a curse. She charges him with her spear.

His colds hands fumble with the clasp of his fanny pack of holding. Taako barely manages to avoid being impaled, twisting out of the way at the last minute. He’s not dexterous enough, though, and he feels steel cut deep into his right arm. But he manages to undo the clasp as the selkie pivots for another attack and he yanks his staff out of the bag. He makes an affronted noise when the selkie’s spear gouges some of the wood while he blocks her next attack. Magnus worked very hard on this staff.

“What are you doing?” The selkie’s friends protest. “Stop fighting!”

“Yeah,” Taako says, “that’s a great idea.”

If looks could kill, Taako would be super dead. The selkie narrows her eyes and moves to strike him again. Taako reaches out a hand and casts Sleep. She crumples to the ground, her weapon clattering beside her. The wizard puts pressure on his bleeding arm and looks up at the four charmed selkies staring at him in concern and confusion. “I’m not sure what happened. You’d better check on her.” They agree with him and approach their fallen friend. Taako takes this opportunity to follow the light over to the small pond near the back wall.

He feels a little sick as he grabs one of the eggs. It’s about the size of a grapefruit and it’s warm in his bloody palm. He places it in his fanny pack of holding along with his staff. Time to go.

“Taako, what are you doing?” one of the selkies asks.

“Nothing, babe. Listen, I’ve gotta head out now, but it was great seeing you.”

They’ve arranged their unconscious friend into a more comfortable position. They all wave cheerfully at him. “Stop by again soon!” they say. He doesn’t look them in the eyes as he slips into the water where he entered. _For Angus_ , he tells himself. But there’s an ache in his chest that doesn’t go away.

*** *** ***

When he gets home, Taako looks longingly over at his bed. He feels like he could sleep for days. Instead, he grabs a healing potion from one of the shelves and drinks it, feeling the pain in his arm reduce. His shirt is ruined, though.

He’s been storing the items in the Astral Plane. He casts Blink to retrieve them and put them in his fanny pack of holding. When he returns to the Material Plane, his boyfriend is standing in his bedroom door. “Hi, sweetheart,” Kravitz greets him happily, “I thought I heard you come home.” Taako’s glad he has his jacket on over his bloodstained sleeve.

“Oh, hey, bones.”

Kravitz walks over and places his big, dark hand on Taako’s cheek. He gives him a long, sweet kiss. “We’ve both been so busy lately. I miss you.”

Taako can’t help but relax under his boyfriend’s cold touch. “I miss you too. Sorry, Krav.”

“It’s alright,” he says gently. “Where were you today? You kind of smell like seaweed.”

“Oh, I was, uh, swimming at Merle’s beach house.”

Kravitz takes a step back and the loss of contact leaves Taako feeling empty. “Really? I just saw Merle at the moon base today.” _Fuck_.

“Yeah, he asked me to watch the kids.”

Kravitz’s handsome face wrinkles in confusion and concern. Taako knows he’s failing this deception check hard. “Darling, is something going on?” He’s always so soft and caring, and Taako feels like he’s going to cry. So, he bolts.

“Gotta go. Sorry, hot stuff, I’ll be back tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow?”

“Yep! I have to… I - I have to –” It’s like all of his energy has been sapped from him. The ritual components feel unnaturally heavy in his bag. “I’ll see you later.” He shuts the front door, stubbornly avoiding looking at Kravitz’s hurt expression.

Magnus takes one look at his friend and lets him stay the night without a word. “Rustic hospitality,” Taako mutters as the carpenter drapes a blanket over him on the couch.

“You know it,” Magnus replies. He doesn’t ask questions, not even when Taako chooses to sleep with his bag clutched to his chest. Magnus gently moves a strand of blonde hair from the wizard’s face and shuts off the living room lamp. “We’ll talk in the morning?”

Taako doesn’t respond. He’s so tired of lying.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You can find me on tumblr: patriciasage
> 
> What did you think of this chapter? I appreciate any and all feedback!
> 
> Next chapter - Taako finishes the job, makes Angus a cake, and finally talks to his worried boyfriend


	3. Chapter 3

Taako wakes feeling solid and warm, no longer falling apart at the seams.

He leaves a note on Magnus’s kitchen table: _Thanks, sugar._ _I owe you a pie_ _xx._ Magnus’s snores are silenced by the closed front door.

Strolling across the hangar, he shoots finger guns at Avi with a raise of his eyebrows. The man sighs. “How many more trips, man?”

“Last one, I promise,” Taako says, blowing him a kiss as he closes the hatch lowers.

“It had better be,” Avi says, but there’s no weight behind his words.

The halfling glares when he opens the panel on the door. “Password?” he says tonelessly.

Taako winks and leans down, but instead of speaking to the guard he calls into the house. “Hello! It’s me! The guy running your spooky errands!”

A low voice speaks up from another room down the hall. “Let him in.”

The halfling rolls his eyes before unbolting all of the locks. Taako hears him grumbling to himself. “Just last week you tear me apart for letting Marshall in, but this flouncy stranger? Yeah, he’s good to come in on sight, Fig, what were you _thinking_ asking him for the password?”

There are only three necromancers in the kitchen this time. The woman in the denim jacket is drinking her coffee. The man at the stove offers Taako some French toast. “No, thanks,” Taako says. He sits next to the other man at the table and pulls out his fanny pack of holding. He lays the items carefully onto the table: the jar of dirt, the ceremonial dagger, the gem, the flowers, and the egg. The necromancers look pleased in a way he doesn’t want to think about. “We good?”

The woman opens the jar and tastes a bit of the dirt from the tip of her finger. Then she reaches across the table. Taako shakes her hand with a look of slight disgust. “Percy, get him the paperwork,” she says to the redhead. He gets up from the table and returns with papers and a quill.

Taako reads the documents carefully. They’re not going to trick him like they tricked an eleven-year-old. He signs. “You’re going to leave Angus McDonald alone for the rest of his brilliant life.”

It’s not a question, but she answers it as if it were. “Yes. As outlined in our agreement, you do not disclose our location and practices to the Bounty Hunter or the Raven Queen and we will not contact the boy.”

“Fantastic.” Taako places the quill on the stack of papers and stands up, staff in hand. “See ya never!”

“Um…bye.”

*** *** ***

Taako bakes Angus a cake with the words “ _the necromancers won’t bother you again”_ written in icing calligraphy on the top. Taako cuts a piece while the boy stammers, red-faced. “Th-thank you, sir! I don’t know what to say. What…what did you do?” Taako just ruffles his dark curls. He lifts the plate off the table and carries it out into the dining room.

“Alright!” Magnus cheers. “Wait, why does my piece say ‘ _the necrom’_?”

“Oh, you know…” Taako replies vaguely before walking back to the kitchen and cutting the rest of the cake. Angus is still a bit anxious, worried about how Taako achieved this but grateful for the result. There’s a spring in his step again now that he knows he’s safe. Taako smiles.

Lup hands him his cane as they’re leaving Magnus’s house. She gives him a pointed look.

He sighs. “I know! I’ll do it.”

“Like, tonight,” she insists. “You should’ve seen him at work today. You’re going to worry your boyfriend to death. Pun intended.”

Taako fidgets with his rings as they walk. “Was he mad?”

“Mad?” Lup flicks his hat. “You live with this man. How do you not know him at all?”

Kravitz isn’t mad. He strokes Taako’s hair and gives him a lingering, cold kiss on the cheek. He doesn’t ask questions or pressure the wizard to tell him anything. He just sits on the couch with a cup of tea in his hands and Taako’s fuzzy socks on his feet and talks about his day. Taako closes the careful space between them and collapses onto his boyfriend, cheek pressed to his shoulder and arms wrapped around his torso. Kravitz hurries to put his tea down but then settles and rubs the elf’s back.

And Taako tells him everything.

“I understand if you have to arrest me or something for all the shit I did. And I’m sorry but I can’t tell you who or where they are because then they’ll try and get to Angus and I’m not gonna let that happen, Krav. So…do what you need to do but that’s where I’m at.”

Taako pulls away from the embrace and forces himself to look at his boyfriend’s handsome face. Kravitz is upset. Taako looks away.

A cold, dark hand lifts his chin and settles on his cheek. “Taako.” Kravitz always says his name in this soft, gentle way. “You mean more to me than my job. You know that, right?”

Taako didn’t know that.

“Yeah,” he lies.

Kravitz places his other hand to frame the elf’s worried face. He strokes his thumbs gently under tired eyes. “You risked your life; you did all of this to save a little boy who was in danger. How could I be mad at you, darling? I’m just upset because you were out there, in danger, alone.” Kravitz sighs. “I wish you would have told me.”

“Why?” Taako asks. “What would you have done? Helped me get the fuckin ritual components?”

There’s uncertainty in Kravitz’s red eyes. He moves his hands to the back of Taako’s neck and presses their foreheads together. He’s always like this, tender and affectionate, and Taako’s found himself getting accustomed to it. If anyone else touched him this much he would poke them with his sharpest kitchen knife. “I don’t know what I would have done,” Kravitz says softly and honestly. “I just know that…there isn’t anything I wouldn’t do to keep you safe.”

This is getting to be a bit much. Taako kisses his boyfriend to shut him up. He doesn’t mean for it to be, but it feels like reciprocation, like responding that he feels the same. Which is true.

Love is a fragile and dangerous thing in the hands of someone with a broken moral compass. Taako thinks about the relief and trust on Angus’s face and can’t bring himself to feel bad about what he’s done. “You’re a good person,” Kravitz tells him later. Taako doesn’t correct him because he knows it’s important for Kravitz to believe that lie. He’s made peace with himself a long time ago.

The next morning, Taako makes Magnus a pie.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's it! Please let me know what you thought of this story - reviews mean a lot to me.


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